


A Way To Keep You Close

by Just_Absolutely_Super



Category: Soul Eater
Genre: And a little bit of, Evans Family Headcanons, F/M, Gen, Headcanon, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-12
Updated: 2020-07-12
Packaged: 2021-03-05 00:13:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,111
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25215271
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Just_Absolutely_Super/pseuds/Just_Absolutely_Super
Summary: Maka makes a discovery after being given the task of bringing Soul his forgotten wallet.
Relationships: Maka Albarn & Soul Eater Evans, Maka Albarn/Soul Eater Evans
Comments: 12
Kudos: 179





	A Way To Keep You Close

**Author's Note:**

> Was thinking up some headcanons one day and this one in particular inspired me to write. Includes a little bit of my Evans Family HCs, but nothing major. It's mostly a SoMa story (though more on the subtle side because I like this ship when you can tell they're in love but it's not totally in your face about it).

Maka was starting the third act of her book when she heard the sharp “ _ping!_ ” of her phone, alerting her of a new text.

Sighing, she marked her place before shutting the book and reaching over to the coffee table to grab her phone. Upon unlocking it, she saw that the text was from her weapon partner.

_“Forgot my wallet. Bring it to me?”_

Maka rolled her eyes. Of course Soul would forget something as important as his wallet when he went out. Sure, it was just to the basketball court but you never know if he would need it for any reason.

Standing up, she walked inside his room and went straight to his desk, as it was the place Soul usually dropped his wallet. Sure enough, she spotted the old piece of leather (it was a discarded wallet he found at a flee market—claimed it was “vintage” and therefore “cool”). Pocketing it in the back pocket of her jean shorts, she slipped some flip-flops on and walked out the door.

She was a couple of blocks away from the apartment when she heard her phone release another sharp tone. She rolled her eyes as she fished her phone out, what else could that boy have forgotten?

_“Could you bring me a water too?”_

Maka scowled. She wished he’d have thought of that around the time he sent the first text. They had plenty of bottles of water in their fridge. Not feeling the urge to walk back and grab one, she shot him a text of her own.

_“Okay but I’m gonna have to buy you one. I’ll be using YOUR money.”_

She knew he’d be annoyed with her but she didn’t care. It was his water, so it would be fair to use _his_ money in _his_ wallet that she was bringing him.

Smirking at his responding _“Whatever,”_ text, Maka continued her journey to the basketball court. She knew there would be a vendor along the way so she’d stop there first to purchase her weapon a bottle of water.

When she came across the large van belonging to one of DC’s popular vendors, she saw there was a line mostly consisting of little children and their parents. This didn’t surprise Maka—this vendor sold a lot of treats like candy and ice cream—so she settled herself behind the rest of the paying customers. As she got comfortable, she pulled Soul’s wallet out of her back pocket and decided to make sure he really _did_ have money to spend.

Unfolding the wallet, something caught her eye, making Maka pause.

Right next to Soul’s motorcycle license were three flaps that one would put wallet-sized pictures in. Maka never dreamed Soul would be the type to actually use this feature. It didn’t surprise her when she saw he put his DWMA student ID in one of the slots. No, what actually shocked her was the presence of two photographs taking up the rest of the space.

The first was an older picture—probably taken close to ten years ago if Maka had to guess. She recognized a young version of Soul who was sporting a large, toothy grin at the camera. He was sitting in the lap of an elderly woman who Maka presumed was his grandmother. The woman was smiling at the camera as well, sharp canines glinting in the sun, her white hair stacked on top of her head in a neat bun. Next to the two was another boy who looked a few years older than Soul. His teeth were normal, but his pale hair and red eyes made Maka deduce that this boy was most likely Soul’s older brother Wes. The way he was positioned and what looked like an ill-placed thumb indicated that Wes was the one taking the picture of the three.

She wasn’t sure where exactly the picture was taking place. Soul and his grandmother were sitting on a marble white bench and in the background was a body of water. Maka could also make out other buildings in the background. Looking at it closer, it reminded her of her and Soul’s travels to Greece or maybe even Tuscany. Were they on vacation at the time this picture was taken?

No matter, the location wasn’t really important to her anyway. What mesmerized her was how happy the tiny version of Soul looked. The boy in the picture looked so carefree as he clutched onto his grandmother with one had and held out the other as if he were waving to the camera held by his brother. She recalled that Soul didn’t like his old life before the DWMA. He rarely talked about it, mostly because it was associated with bad memories.

But this small picture was proof that there were _some_ good memories to be associated with the Evans family. Even if all it included were these two particular people sharing Soul’s smile…

Remembering there was a second picture in the third slot, Maka decided to tear her focus away from the picture of Soul and his family in favor of the remaining photo. Flipping to it, Maka felt her breath catch as she gazed at the second wallet-sized photo.

It was of her…

She wasn’t aware of this picture’s existence, but it might have been because the Maka during that time wasn’t looking at whoever was holding the camera.

It looked to be taken at Deathbucks Café since she spotted a glimpse of the familiar waitress skirt in the corner of the picture. Maka was sitting at the table, a bowl of strawberry ice cream in front of her as she was facing someone off camera. Her hair was down instead of in their usual pigtails, and her eyes were closed in mirth as her mouth gaped open wide in laughter.

Despite it being a candid shot, Maka had to admit it was a good picture of her. She supposed Soul thought so too if he thought it was worth putting in his wallet.

The realization that Soul had probably taken and developed a picture of _Maka_ of all people made her face illuminate a bright red. Why would he do that? What compelled him to want to do something so…intimate?

More importantly, what was this simple action even supposed to _mean_?!

Should she be flattered? Creeped out? Should she read into it to mean her weapon feels more for her than as a simple friend and meister?

Maka fought off a squeal. Oh Lord Death, should she _confront_ him about it? That would be so embarrassing, but she was curious if whether or not there was an underlying _meaning_ to this!

“Hey, miss, you gonna stand there all day or are you gonna buy something?”

Maka squeaked as she was torn away from her flustered thoughts. During her perusing through Soul’s wallet, she neglected to pay attention to the line in front of her. All the children and their parents left, leaving her alone and idly standing by in front of the vendor.

Maka blushed in embarrassment, “S-Sorry! I spaced out! One bottle of water, please.”

The vendor nodded at her before disappearing into his van momentarily to grab said bottle. As she waited, Maka looked to the menu in front of her, wondering if she should get something for herself. After all, once she got to the court she may end up staying to watch Soul’s game.

“Here you go, little lady. Anything else?” the vendor asked.

Maka hummed when her eyes landed on a particular treat. “Yes, actually.”

Once she told the vendor her next order and he had disappeared once again to retrieve it, Maka allowed herself to open Soul’s wallet back up again. Not just to retrieve the cash to pay for her stuff, but to gaze again at the two photos that were hidden inside.

She decided to ignore the candid shot of her (for now) in favor of looking at the old picture of Soul, his brother, and grandmother.

Despite Soul’s resolve to distance himself from the Evans family, it was obvious he still held a soft spot for these two particular people. She recalled the shoebox Soul kept under his bed; the contents being all the postcards his grandmother had sent to him throughout the years. Maka had teased him about it initially, but she found it really sweet that he and his grandmother still exchanged letters. It reminded her of the postcards she got from her own mother though Mama’s letters were few and far in between, only showing up once every few months. And unlike Maka, Soul always knew where his grandmother was located so he could send his replies…

Then there was Wes. Wes was often a sore subject for Soul, but Maka knew he deeply cared about his older brother. If he didn’t, he wouldn’t have stayed diligent in checking in with his brother every month or so like Wes had requested of him. It was a slow transition, but nowadays Maka could bring up the older Evans brother without her weapon visibly wincing.

True, Soul’s life before the DWMA wasn’t the best of upbringings and not a life he wanted to dwell on, but looking at the three smiling faces in the old photograph, Maka felt assured that not all of it was terrible. Perhaps the reason Soul kept this picture of his brother and grandmother was his way of holding onto those good memories. Or remembering the people in his old life who _were_ his only good memories.

Perhaps that was why her picture was next to theirs…

He may never say it willingly, but Maka knew she meant a great deal to Soul. She wasn’t just his meister, but his closest friend. You can’t resonate as well as they do and _not_ have a personal bond to show for it. He may or may not view her in a romantic light, but of all the people Soul would trust with his life, Maka was the first on the list. The same went for Maka about Soul.

She was one of the better things to come out of his new life as a demon scythe. No matter what the true context of this picture was, she had a feeling that the biggest reason he kept it in his wallet was to remind himself of the good things that had come into existence the moment he stepped away from the aristocratic lifestyle.

Maka smiled, flipping between the two pictures and examining each face:

A supportive grandmother.

A doting big brother.

A courageous meister.

These were people Soul Evans considered precious. He may have turned to his wallet as a means to contain the memory of their importance since all three have helped shape him into the man he was today. It seemed to be the most logical conclusion.

“Here you go, miss.”

Averting her gaze from the pictures, Maka smiled at the vendor. “Thank you!” she said as she gave him a five-dollar bill to pay for her purchases.

After receiving the appropriate change, she bid the vendor farewell and continued her trek to her weapon—who she was sure was wondering where she was.

Sure enough, once she came up to the court she saw his head immediately turned toward her. She waved at him, calling out, “Soul! I’m here!”

She watched as her weapon grinned and motioned to Black Star and the rest of his teammates with his hands for a timeout (Maka didn’t know anything about sports but sure as heck knew the universal sign for “timeout”). Once the game was paused, Soul jogged to her.

“There you are! I didn’t think it’d take so long to get here.” He said, sweaty and panting from the exertion of playing.

“Sorry. There was a line.” Maka replied, handing him the water bottle, which her weapon eagerly took. She watched him as he unscrewed the cap and tipped it back to chug the liquid.

Once he was finished he sighed in contentment, screwing the cap back on as he said, “Thanks, Maka.”

“You’re welcome,” she said, handing over his wallet too. “By the way, you’re gonna have to stop at the ATM if you want to use cash for anything. You only had a five.”

Soul’s eyes widened as he checked his wallet. Upon seeing nothing but coins he turned toward his meister, “What the hell? There’s no way this water cost almost five dollars!”

Maka giggled, indicating to the Styrofoam cup in her hand, “No, but with the little something I bought myself, it did.”

Soul scowled. Before he could reprimand her for using his money Maka said, “Think of it as your thank you gift to me for walking all the way out here and buying you a water.”

Soul sighed and rolled his eyes, “Ugh, _fine_! What did _I_ buy you anyway?”

Maka grinned as she tipped the cup over for him to see, “Strawberry ice cream.”

The same stuff she was eating in his secret photograph of her. She wasn’t expecting him to connect any dots, but she admitted she felt a warm sensation come over her as she saw a small, almost fond grin overtake his face.

“Cool. Mind if I have some?” he asked.

Maka possessively pulled her cup of ice cream close to her chest, “No way! Get your own!”

“Hey, come on! My money bought it so it’s _technically_ mine!” he argued.

“No, it was a _gift_ from you to me! Therefore it’s _only_ mine!” she stuck her tongue out at him.

Soul scoffed, “Whatever you pig.” He laughed as he dodged the fist she tried to throw at him.

“Yo, Soul! You ready to get back in the game?” she heard Black Star call out. She spotted Kilik and Kid too but the rest were boys Maka didn’t know or recognize (probably local DC kids that often hung out at the courts).

“Yeah, be right there!” Soul called back. He then turned back to Maka, “You gonna stay, or you heading back home?”

Maka took another spoonful of ice cream before replying, “I guess I’ll stay for a bit. Seems pointless to go back after going through all the trouble of coming here.”

Soul gave her a lopsided grin, “Alright then. Watch my stuff.”

“’Kay.” She said, making herself comfortable on the bench next to her partner’s gym bag.

She watched as her partner ran back to his teammates. She glanced at the wallet, which Soul had hastily placed inside his open gym bag. Despite the frozen treat, Maka still felt that warm sensation in her belly as she smiled.

* * *

The game lasted for about an hour. Maka had no idea what had been going on, but she knew that Soul’s team had won in the end and to her that was all that mattered.

Her ice cream long gone, Maka threw her trash away and handed Soul his gym bag as he ran up to her.

“Thanks,” he said, taking the bag from her grasp. “The guys want to celebrate with pizza, you gonna come?”

Maka shrugged in indifference. She had just ate that ice cream so she was rather full, but she didn’t mind hanging out with everyone.

She told Soul this and he nodded at her. “Cool. Kid wanted a shower first and I don’t really blame him, so we’ll get cleaned up then go afterwards.”

Maka nodded and the two made their way back to the apartment after waving at the rest of their friends with promises to see each other later on.

The walk home was silent but not uncomfortable. Maka was a little lost in her own thoughts when she heard her weapon suddenly speak.

“You saw the photos, didn’t you?”

The scythe meister squeaked, jumping a little. Despite this action obviously giving her away, she tried to play it off.

“Photos? What photos?” she innocently asked, not meeting his eyes. Even though it was true that she saw them, she didn’t want to embarrass Soul so she thought it’d be best to pretend it never happened. He always did prefer his privacy.

Surprisingly though, instead of taking the bait to forget the whole thing, Soul pursued it, “Drop the act. I know you saw them. Hard not to if you had to go through my wallet to pay for the water.”

Maka winced. Pouting, she touched her pointer fingers together in an apologetic manner as she said, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to snoop through your stuff. It just…happened.”

Soul snorted, “I figured. I’m not mad.”

Maka raised an eyebrow as she glanced at him, “You aren’t?”

“Nah,” he confirmed. He then shrugged in that nonchalant way of his, “I mean, I’m sure I’ve lost some cool points with you, but nothing I can do about it now.”

Now it was Maka’s turn to snort, “Please, Soul, as if carrying around a couple of pictures in your wallet would make you any less cool.”

Soul smirked at her, running a hand through his white hair, “Yeah, you’re right. I’m so cool, it’d take a lot to bring my levels down.”

They shared a laugh at his mock arrogance and continued walking, the silence taking over once again. Maka could have left it at that, but she felt she needed to confront Soul on the matter a little more.

“I don’t mind, by the way. The photo.”

She didn’t have to elaborate which photo she was referring to. They both knew she meant the one of her.

“Oh yeah?” he asked, his voice casual but Maka could tell there was a nervous edge to it.

“Yeah,” she confirmed, “I’m actually flattered you’d think me important enough to include me in your wallet.”

Her weapon produced a humming sound, which Maka took to mean he was acknowledging her words. She was expecting the topic to be over with when she jolted at the sudden feeling of his hand brushing against hers.

“Stupid. Of course you’re important to me,” he muttered. Had Maka not been close to him she might not have heard it at all. His hand purposefully brushed against hers again as he softly continued, “More than that, in fact…”

Maka felt warmth blossom across her face. Smiling shyly, she allowed her hand to drift into his. Unlike all the other times they’ve held hands, she felt there was more meaning to the gesture this time around.

She liked it. And she had a feeling Soul did too.

After all, it was better to have the one you cherish most close to you in person than in your wallet.

**Author's Note:**

> The last section was actually a last minute addition. I was originally just going to end it with Maka sitting at the bench to watch Soul's game, but I wasn't satisfied with it because it wasn't a proper conclusion. Also, I wanted a little more SoMa content so I gave them a bit of a more romantic ending than the open-ended one I was originally going to do. I kinda like the results.
> 
> If you found some entertainment to this, please leave me a review. Thanks for reading!


End file.
